Archive for September, 2009

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

Is God hiding in a secret place? Why does he appear to be so illusive? So many people die without finding him. Even his followers struggle to stay connected at times. But God can be found. In fact, he wants to be found. We just need to want it bad enough. Then we must trust him to reveal himself however he chooses. “We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) When Paul said “we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen,” he was describing the spiritual dimension that must be discovered by other means than eyesight…the secret place. He goes on to say “for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” In other words, what is considered the secret place is actually the true reality that always was and always will be. We are temporarily being kept from seeing the spiritual dimension while we are in this fish bowl environment of our earthly bodies. But that doesn’t mean we can’t break through and communicate with our spiritual Father. His “place” is only a secret to those who haven’t found him yet.

Jesus gave us a clue on how to connect with the Father when we get alone with him. “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6) Oswald Chambers said, “A secret silence means to shut the door on emotions and remember God.”

You know how it feels when you are trying to carry on a conversation with someone who is looking at everyone but you and whose mind is obviously somewhere else? That’s how it must feel to God when we come to him but our thoughts are everywhere else.

Our Creator can be hard to find, can’t he? Even when we pray, he can seem far away. I think that’s because the Lord wants more than our words. He wants our hearts, our souls, and our minds. It’s almost like he is saying, “I want all of you. If I can’t have all of you, then don’t bother looking. You won’t find me. Where I am will remain a secret to you until you are ready to be fully mine.” God is found on his terms and his methods, not ours.

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

Psalm 91 was my dad’s favorite psalm. He put the first few verses to music and sang it often. On one of his final days, when he could no longer communicate with us, he could still sing that song with us. It was a precious moment I’ll treasure forever. Dad lived the truth of that passage out in his life until the very end and now he is in that secret place with his heavenly Father.

I wonder how many Christians truly want to know the Lord. Most of us are satisfied with having just enough of God to get by, knowing that he’s there when we need him. We put our time in on Sundays, but by Monday morning it’s time to face the secular world so we leave our sacred world until next Sunday rolls around. And we wonder why the people of God have become so lame and ineffective! Where is our salt and light? We don’t act any different from our Non-Christian friends. I’m not saying this to try and shame or guilt anyone to start acting differently. Preachers try that all the time and it doesn’t work. Our behavior is simply the result of what we’re feeling inside. If we don’t act like we know God, we probably don’t. Some, like myself, look like we have it together by serving in the church or volunteering for other ministries, but that doesn’t guarantee we know God any more than we know the president of the company we work for in our secular jobs.

I don’t want to be a part-time, casual Christian. I want to know Jesus and I want him all week! I’m not saying this to appear righteous; I’m saying this because I want to be. We are justified in God’s sight because his son shed his blood for us, but he wants us to live holy and sanctified lives, and we won’t get close to that without walking with him every hour. Besides, if we only call out to the Lord when we need him, we won’t be spiritually or emotionally ready to weather a crisis when it comes. Staying close to God gives us the courage to face any challenge. We need to dwell in the secret place!

Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust You in the presence of the sons of men. You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. (Psalm 31:19, 20)